Ignorance

The house wasn't anything like I had seen before in person. I had only seen houses like this in movies and pictures. But never in real life. Back in Japan, all the homes I had seen were cramped together and all looked the same. But this house, and all the houses around it, seemed like a work of art to me. I stared up at the house, squinting against the sunlight from behind my dark sunglasses, taking in its overall appearance. It was painted a light shade of beige and had dark brown trimming, typical home colors. There was a large porch that stretched through the entire front half of the house. In front of the porch, there were plots dug up where I knew the previous owner had grown plenty of flowers. The front door was painted a rich shade of reddish brown and was slightly ajar. My gaze lifted up to look at the second floor to glance over the windows, which gave me a preview of the empty and bare walls inside. I licked my chapped lips before I heard a voice calling out to me.

"Noelani Lennon, get your butt in here and help out already."

I rolled my eyes before bending down to pick up a box of my things and balancing it on my hip. I sighed as I looked up at the house once more, taking in its beauty and the beauty of the surrounding houses. I slightly smiled before speaking out to the woman in the doorway. "I'm coming, Mom, chill."

"How can I be 'chill' when I'm so excited about this?" my mom grinned down at me.

I glanced up at her, her glowing green eyes glowing down at mine. I grinned before looking inside the house, thinking of all the memories we could have here. "It is exciting. Think about it, Mom. We actually have space between us and the neighbors!"

"I know! Oh, Lolo, baby, I'm just so happy your father finally gets to settle down in a nice place like this," she sighed.

"Hey! Japan was nice," my dad protested as he walked in with a heavy box in his arms.

"And I got the best education out there," I pointed out.

"I know, darlings, but this seems like such a nice neighborhood. Not just a place that compares everybody's intelligence."

"How would you know that, Caroline, you haven't talked to any of the neighbors yet," my dad laughed.

"Don't tempt me, David," my mother said seriously.

My dad gave me a worried look before breaking out in a wide grin as he walked back out the door. I shook my head at both of them before turning around to walk up the stairs. "I'm going to hunt for a room," I called out.

My mom called out to tell me she heard me before I heard the door open once more. I looked down the hallway cautiously before making left to see what rooms were there. The first door I opened led to a rather large room that had a huge window that looked out to the backyard. I looked around to see a grand bathroom on the other side of the room that held a step-in shower, a huge bath tub, and two sinks. I wrinkled my nose when I realized that it was the master bedroom before I walked out the room and to the other end of the hallway. I had to open a few doors before I finally found the room I liked. The room wasn't huge, but it wasn't terribly small. It had just the right amount of space for me. I stepped in and looked around the bright room and slowly circled around it. I opened the closet door and stepped in to see that it had more than enough space for all my clothes. I sighed in approval before setting my box down. I put my hands on my waist before looking out the window that looked out to the moving truck outside. I turned around to the doorway when I heard someone knock.

"I see you found your room, princess," my dad grinned as he put a box down near the door.

"Yep. I found yours too," I said as I pointed down the hall.

"Did you?" he asked as he leaned back to look down the hallway. "Thanks, kiddo."

"No problem."

"So how do you like it here so far?"

"Too soon to say. But it's a beautiful house, Dad. You did good," I smiled.

"Only the best for my girls," he said as he kissed the top of my head. "Now come on and help us unload, before your mom yells at us again."

"Who would have figured that Mom wears the pants in this relationship," I teased him as we walked downstairs.

"I may be a first lieutenant, but I am smart enough to figure enough that your mother dominates any power," he said as he stepped out the door.

"I knew I chose a smart man," my mom smiled up at him before placing a kiss on his cheek.

"She's always right," he grinned.

"What if she's wrong?" I asked as my mom walked inside.

"She's always right," my dad repeated as he laughed.

I shook my head at him before jumping into the moving truck to grab a huge box of my things. I walked off the ramp with the box in my hands and was about to walk back into the house when a voice stopped me.

"Excuse me, honey."

I turned around to see a couple along with two identical boys with dark brown hair and green eyes. I smiled at them cautiously before taking one small step down on the porch towards them. The woman grinned at me before placing a hand on her husband's arm.

"My name is Danielle Barlett and this is my husband George. These are our boys, Richard and Arik. We're your neighbors," she explained.

"Oh! Well, it's really nice to meet you," I smiled before I balanced the huge box on one uplifted leg as I held out a hand to them. They all gave me small smiles, with the exception of Danielle, who still had a huge grin on her face, as they shook my hand. "I'm Noelani Lennon."

"That's an unusual name, honey."

"I know," I laughed. "My dad was stationed at Hawaii when I was born and the locals named me that. It means 'heavenly girl.'"

"You certainly look heavenly, Hun. Where are your parents?"

"They should be inside," I said before turning around to shout inside the door. "Mama! Neighbors!"

I looked down at them to grin widely at them. "My mom is really excited to meet all the neighbors. Dad swears she's going to throw a block party within the hour."

My mom quickly rushed out onto the porch with a wide grin on her face as she pushed her blonde hair out of her face. She stuck her hand out eagerly to the family. "Oh, it is so nice to meet all of you, I'm Caroline Lennon."

"Easy, babe, we don't want the neighbors to think you're crazy," my dad laughed as he walked out. Mr. Barlett and the two boys widened their eyes at the sight of my dad, who was around six foot two, had short dark brown hair, and more than a few large muscles.

"David, stop embarrassing me," my mom smiled.

"Stop embarrassing yourself," he laughed before kissing her cheek and walking away to grab another box.

"Well, I'm going to put this away," I said as I gestured to the box in my hand.

"Boys, help her," Mr. Barlett said to his sons.

"Oh, if you please. There are more boxes in the truck. Just get the ones that have 'Lolo' written on them," I explained before they turned to go to the truck.

"Lolo, Hun?" Mrs. Barlett asked.

"That's Noelani's nickname," my mom explained as she put a hand on my shoulder. "The Hawaiian locals thought she was just a scream, running all over the place like there was no tomorrow. They always said she was Lolo, or crazy."

"And it stuck, unfortunately," I said as I bumped against my mom with my hip. The two boys walked up to the porch, both with a box in their hands. "Follow me," I told them before walking into the house.

I led them into my room upstairs before throwing the box down, wincing as I heard something crack. I gave an embarrassed smile to the two boys, who stood their uncomfortably. "You can just put the boxes down on the floor," I said as I sat on the floor.

They both nodded before doing so. They looked at each other uncomfortably before turning to stare at me. "So which one is which?" I asked.

"I'm Arik," the one on the right said.

"I'm Ricky," the other said.

"How do people usually determine who is who?" I asked.

"They don't," Ricky said as he sat down next to me. "They just say one of our names and whoever looks up is that person."

"Unless we fuck with them," Arik grinned.

"Naughty," I laughed. "Well, I bet I can tell you apart next time I see you, even if you dressed identically."

"How so?" Ricky asked.

"You have greener eyes than he does," I said as I nodded towards his brother. "His are more hazel. Plus, he has darker freckles than you do. Barely noticeable, but still noticeable."

"Do you always pay that much attention?" Arik asked.

"My dad is in the military. He couldn't help but pass on a few skills," I explained.

"Like what?"

"Observation and self-defense, mostly," I said before standing up. "I better get more boxes."

They stood and followed me out the door while Ricky asked, "So where did you move from?"

"Japan. Before that was Germany. And before that was Hawaii."

"Wow."

"Right? All completely different from the other so I'm excited to see what California has in store for me."

"What was it like in Hawaii?"

"I don't remember. I was born there but we left when I was around two. I don't even remember going to see the ocean."

"What?" Arik asked sharply as he turned around to look at me.

"It's no big deal," I laughed.

"The second we have a free weekend, I am dragging you to the beach," he declared as he walked past our parents.

"Oh, Ricky, don't be making promises like that," Mrs. Barlett said.

"Wrong twin, Ma," Arik called out.

"It's okay, Mom," Ricky chuckled before walking past her.

She bit her lip in worry as she looked at her sons. "I feel like such a horrible mother for not even being able to tell my own son's apart."

"It's okay. My mom always gets my birthday wrong. I can't remember a year when I celebrated my birthday on my actually birthday," I explained as I walked past her and to the trunk. I grabbed the last box that we could carry before nodding to the twins to walk with me.

"So can I ask a weird question?" Ricky asked.

"I wouldn't have it any other way," I smiled.

"What's up with your eyes? Are those contacts?"

"If I had a nickel for every time I heard that, I'd have a lot of nickels," I sighed. "These eyes are all natural. It runs on my mother's side."

"Which is the only downside of moving here," my dad spoke up as he walked into the room with a large desk in his arms. "Your mother has relatives here."

"Don't tell me we actually have to see those troglodytes," I groaned.

"Harsh. Good word use, though," he grinned. "And yes, we do."

I wrinkled my nose in disgust before pouting down to the floor. "I hate my relatives," I explained to them.

"Why?"

"They're so old-fashioned. Everything I do is wrong to them. It's like they think I'm a mistake or something," I said as I leaned against my desk.

"That's bull. You seem alright to me," Ricky grinned.

"Thanks. Well, I better go help my parents unload furniture. They could always use these guns," I laughed as I flexed my arms. I kept flexing them overdramatically before I accidentally knocked over the lamp my dad had placed in the room earlier.

"Geez, Noelani, watch the guns," Arik laughed.

I grinned in embarrassment before turning around to walk out of the room, the sound of the twins’ laughter floating down the stairs to haunt me.